Super Typhoon Bavi heads for US Pacific islands

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands – People in Guam and the Northern Marianas hunkered down on July 4 as the second super typhoon to hit the US Pacific territories since April approached with the equivalent of Category 5 hurricane winds.

Bavi was moving westward with sustained winds of 269kmh and gusts of 324kmh, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) said in an update at 7pm local time (5pm Singapore time).

The eye of the storm was expected to pass on July 6 very close to the small island of Rota between Guam and Saipan, the main island of the Northern Marianas, with winds set to strengthen to 278kmh, the JTWC forecast.

“My girls were saying to me it’s scary. But it will be okay. My house is concrete so the worst that can happen is a window could blow in,” local Arabella Paulino, 48, told AFP on a Guam beach as the sky darkened and rain fell intermittently.

“Typhoon Sinlaku in April wasn’t as bad as Mawar in 2023. That brought my whole house down,” said her friend Derma Soaladaob, 51. “I stay up north, but I’m going to a hotel. I have a concrete house but with the noise and the wind, it’s scary.”

Guam was set to go into “Condition of Readiness 2” – meaning a typhoon was expected in 24 hours – from 10pm, with emergency shelters due to open on July 5 from 7am, the governor’s office said.

Residents were told to bring to the shelters “enough food and water to last seven days for each family member” as well as medicines, bedding and personal hygiene products.

Pets were not allowed.

Any plans for celebrating the United States’ 250th anniversary on July 4 have been quickly overtaken by storm preparations, with both Guam and the Northern Marianas declaring a state of emergency.

Many of the islands’ roughly 200,000 inhabitants have queued at petrol stations in recent days and thronged hardware stores to buy plywood to board up their windows while also stocking up on food, bottled water and other essentials.

Workers at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan resort were boarding up windows, securing outdoor furniture and equipment, checking alarm systems and stocking first aid kits on July 3.

“Everyone has a role,” the resort’s sports, entertainment and activities manager Reymark Castro, 35, told AFP.

“From engineering to landscaping to operations, we’re all working together to reduce damage and make sure we’re ready to respond once the storm passes.”

Still recovering

The Northern Marianas archipelago is home to around 40,000 people, and nearby Guam – a separate US territory – around 170,000. Major battles were fought in the area in World War II.

Super Typhoon Sinlaku, which hit in mid-April, knocked out power for tens of thousands of people, uprooted trees, overturned cars and ripped metal roofs off buildings.

A cargo ship, the MV Mariana, suffered engine failure and overturned in the storm. The body of one crew member was recovered and five others were missing, presumed dead.

The American Red Cross warned that some locals were still in temporary shelters or under makeshift roofs, even as it deployed disaster teams and supplies ahead of Bavi’s arrival.

Em Marilla, 42, who lives in As Lito village on Saipan, told AFP the thought of “going through it all again without electricity and water is really sad”.

“Furthermore, the application process for assistance takes far too long, and having to keep spending out of pocket for our daily needs is truly draining,” she said.

Lherie Galvan, 50, an accountant in San Antonio village, said: “I’m tired of preparing, planning and fixing our roof.”

“It’s another anxiety to recover from. We need more psychiatrists on the island and financial assistance.

“Children already have trauma but at a young age they know how to prepare – pack their things for emergencies.”

Resort sports, entertainment and activities manager Castro said he had sealed windows at his home with duct tape and filled up extra water containers.

“Two super typhoons in two months, in the same year, is a historic event,” he said.

“Never before seen, for the Marianas at least.”

Warming oceans

The world’s oceans experienced their hottest June on record and could set fresh highs in the months ahead, the European Union’s Copernicus Marine Service said on July 1.

Warmer oceans help tropical storms to intensify and add more moisture, which can fall as heavy rain.

The onset of a potentially powerful El Nino weather pattern could boost global heat in the oceans and atmosphere even further in 2026 and into 2027, scientists say.

The natural climate phenomenon warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, pressure and rainfall patterns.

The World Meteorological Organization warned on July 3 that El Nino, which typically occurs every two to seven years and lasts nine to 12 months, has already begun in the tropical Pacific.

The United Nations’ weather and climate agency said El Nino conditions were forecast to “strengthen rapidly over the coming months, increasing the likelihood of... extreme weather events in many parts of the world”. AFP